Recently, the OPRF Community Council toured the nearly completed Imagine OPRF Project 1 construction work, and had the chance to experience the new spaces Oak Park and River Forest students have enjoyed for several months now. We saw the new Student Resource Center, new cafeteria, and expansive new student common area near the main entrance.
The work is impressive. This summer, Project 1 work will continue, with the renovation of 65 classrooms and the construction of 15 new ones by the opening of school next August.
This first phase of a long-term capital improvement effort was a test for OPRF. Could a school that had not taken on a major new construction project in over 50 years handle this one? Would the work be done on time and on budget? Would the new spaces support instruction, equity, current and future student needs — and be worthy of our community?
We now know the answers: Yes, yes, and yes.
But don’t take my word for it. See for yourself. Oak Park and River Forest families are invited to tour the new construction on Monday, May 9, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
While you’re there, be sure to take a tour of OPRF’s current physical education learning spaces. Next fall, the OPRF administration and District 200 school board will consider what specific projects to include in Project 2. So this is a chance for you to see for yourself the state of the locker rooms, the classrooms, the wrestling room, the pools, the fieldhouse, the weight rooms — all the spaces thousands of current students use all day long — and to be informed for the conversation our community will be having in the coming months about the future of OPRF.
Tim Brandhorst
River Forest